Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, two of President Trump’s key negotiators in brokering the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, “felt a little bit betrayed” by Israeli airstrikes on Qatar during peace talks last month, they said in an exclusive “60 Minutes” interview.
Witkoff learned about the strike, which Israel said targeted senior Hamas leadership in Doha, the morning after it happened. At the time, Mr. Trump wrote on social media, “This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me.”
“I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed,” Witkoff told “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s reaction, Kushner said, “I think he felt like the Israelis were getting a little bit out of control in what they were doing, and that it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests.”
According to Witkoff, Israel’s strike in Qatar impeded negotiations because Qatar was the negotiators’ link to Hamas.
“It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks,” Witkoff said. “We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.”
Finally, Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and for Israel to withdraw its forces to an “agreed upon line.” On Monday, 20 living hostages were released. Hamas has also handed over the remains of other hostages.
Stahl’s full report on “The Dealmakers” is set to air on “60 Minutes” on Sunday. Witkoff and Kushner discuss meeting with Hamas in person during negotiations. They also explain more about the next phase of the 20-point peace plan, which deals with disarmament, troop pullback, rebuilding and post-war governance in Gaza.
